The Federal Assembly () is the name given to a formal

joint session A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally separate decision-making groups meet, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose. Most often it refers to when both houses of a bicam ...

of the two houses of the bicameral

Austrian Parliament The Austrian Parliament () is the bicameral federal legislature of Austria. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets i ...

, the National Council and the Federal Council. It is chaired by the presidents of the two parliamentary chambers taking turns presiding over its sessions. According to the Federal Constitutional Law, the Federal Assembly does not function as a legislative body; the two chambers enact legislation, and even amend the constitution, as strictly separate entities. Since 1945, the assembly has only met to swear the elected

President of Austria The president of Austria () is the head of state of the Austria, Republic of Austria. The office of the president was established in 1920 by the Constituent National Assembly (Austria), Constituent National Assembly of the First Austrian Repu ...

into office.

Tasks

While during the pre-war

First Austrian Republic The First Austrian Republic (), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I which ended the Habsburg rump state of ...

, the Assembly convened to elect the Austrian president, a direct election was implemented by a 1929 amendment. This provision however did not become effective until

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, when Theodor Körner became the first president directly elected by the

Austrian people Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

. Since then, the principal responsibility is to convene for the ceremonial swearing-in of the president. It recently met at the inauguration of

Alexander Van der Bellen Alexander "Sascha" Van der Bellen (; born 18 January 1944), also referred to by the abbreviation VdB, is an Austrian politician serving as the president of Austria since 2017. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University ...

's second term as Austrian President on 26 January 2023. In theory, the Federal Assembly also functions as an instrument of

checks and balances The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state power (usually law-making, adjudication, and execution) and requires these operations of government to be conceptually and institutionally distinguishabl ...

; upon request by a two-thirds majority of the National Council, it may impeach the president before the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

, or upon request by a two-thirds majority in the National Council decide on a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

to have the president removed from office. The assent of the Assembly would also be required for the president's immunity against criminal prosecution to be withdrawn. Furthermore, it is also responsible for declaring war. Neither of these powers, however, has so far been exercised.

External links

Official web site

References

{{reflist Austrian Parliament